Cord take-up and control apparatus



Dec. 29, 1942.

D. BENJAMQIN' 2,306,611

CORD TAKE-UP AiID CONTROL APPARATUS Filed Dec. 10, 1941 2 Sheets-SheetINVENTOR, DA V/D BE/Vz/AMUV 9, 1942- D. BENJAMIN 2,306,611

CORD TA KE-Uf AND CONTROL APPARATUS Filed Dec. 10, 1941. '2 Sheets-Sheet2 a L mg fill :i-I

INVENTOR. -DA V/D BEM-JAM/N ATTaPA/Em.

Patented Dec. 29, 1942 David Benjamin, Cleveland Heights, OhioApplication December 10, 1941, Serial No. 422,360

9 Claims.

This invention relates to means for enabling electric cords or wires forelectric lamps and analogous movable articles to be automatically takenup when the said articles are moved'toward the base plugs with whichsaidcords or wires are connected and to be automatically paid out when thesaid articles are moved away from the said base plugs.

It is the general purpose and object of the invention to enable theforegoing objects to be accomplished in a particularly efficient mannerand by means of a construction which is simple and economical ofproduction. Other and more limited objects of the invention will be setforth hereinafter and will be capable of accomplishment by means of theconstruction shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 'repre--sents a vertical section through the base of' a portable electric lampequipped with my 'invention and Fig. 2 'a bottom plan view'of the saidbase; Fig. 3 a sectional detail showing the position of the reel-lockingand reel-unlocking mechanism shown in the preceding views, the

parts being in position to enable the reel on which the cord is mountedto be rotated freely when the lamp base is liftedfrom its support; Fig.4 a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the positions of the parts when thelamp base is resting on its support and when the reel is being released,

as by manual means; Fig. 5 a view, similar to portion I0 and a side wall0 the said base supporting a central tube l2 to which the standard ofthe lamp may be secured, the upper end of the tube being threaded forthis purpose.

The tube l2 extendsthrough and is threaded into the top Ill of the basel0 and is also thread ed beneath said base, as indicated at I2 forthereception of a bushing l3 having a radially outwardly projecting flangeM at its base.

.15 denotes a reel having a cylindrical central opening I5 which reel ismounted upon the upper cylindrical surface Ii of the bushing, beingsupported thereon by a shoulder Iii resting on top of the flange M, thereel also having a cylindrical wall I5 extending downwardly from 7 theshoulder |5 upper surface with an annular chamber I6 provided with apost adjacent to its inner wall, there being apost -|8 anchored in theupper wall Ill of the base and projecting downwardly into the saidchamber adjacent to the outer wall thereof. These posts provide meansfor anchor-- ing thereto the opposite ends of a torsion spring- |9 whichtends to rotate the reel about the bush-' ing 3. In order to controlsuch rotation, the base of the reel isprovided; adjacent to itsperiphery, with upwardly projecting notches- 2|l alternating withratchetteeth 2|. 1 r

22 denotes a detent arm the outer end of which projects through a slot-23* in the tubular guide 23, said guidehaving a; flanged 'base 23secured thereto, as by a cotter pin 23. The-outer end of the detent armissecured to the lowerend of a stem 24 by means of the screw 24*", thesaid stem passing through an opening provided therefor in a cap 23 forthe tubular. guide 23.

25 denotes a cupped bushing which is fitted within the'upper wall l-il'of-the base and through the bottom of which'the stem 24 projects, the:

upper end of the stem being provided with a push button 24 securedtheretoand projecting above the said upper wall of the base.- A' springv26 is mounted within the bushing, with one end there-' r of inengagement with the bottom of the same and the other end in engagementwith the button, whereby it tends to hold the stem 24 elevated and thedetentarm 22 in engagement with the ratchet teeth 2|. 2| denotes aspring, the upper end of which surrounds the bushing 25 and engages awasher 21 surrounding the upper portion of the said bushing, the lowerend of the spring'bearing against the cap 23*. 7

It will be noted that, when the lamp is supported upon a surface 28 asby means of the feet 29, the tubular guide 23 is pressed upwardly,

- thereby compressing the spring 21 and allowing the detent arm '22 toengage the ratchet teeth 2|, as shown in Fig. 1. When in this position,the cord M will be relieved from the torsion of the spring l9. However,when it isdesired to move the lamp, the act of lifting the same from itssupport 28 will'enable the spring 21, which is of greater strength thanthe spring 26, to depress I the sleeve 23; and the engagement of theupper wall of the slot 23 with the detent arm 22 disengages the detentfrom the ratchet teeth 2| and enables the cord to be unwound fromthereel against the torsion of the spring l9. When the lamp is placed uponits new support, the tubular guide will be moved upwardly to theposition shown The reel is provided within its in Fig. 1, therebycompressing the spring 21 sufficiently to enable the spring 25 to liftthe stem 24 to a. position to enable the detent arm to engage a ratchettooth.

If it is desired to unwind the cord without lifting the lamp from itsbase, as when it may be desired to insert the cord plug into a socketlocated closer to or farther from the lamp than the one with which theplug has been used, this result may be accomplished by pressing the stem24 downwardly, as by the hand or foot of the operator, as shown in Fig.4, thereby to disengage the detent arm from the ratchet on the bottom ofthe reel.

In order to relieve the portion of the-cord which leads to the lamp fromany tendency to twist, or from any pull that might be unintentionallyexerted thereupon by unwinding the said cord entirely from the reel, Ihave provided the follot ing means for efiecting this result: 3% denotesthe wires which extend upwardly through the tube 1 .2 to the lamp socket(not shown). One of these wires is shown as connected to an innercircular track 3| of'conductive material and the other to an outercircular track 32 of conductive material, the said tracks being securedto a disk 33 of insulating material which, in turn, is secured to theflange M of the bushing I3 by screws 34. The inner ends of the Wires I!and H of the cord which is wound upon the reel are connected by screws35 and 35, respectively, to contact fingers 31 and 38, respectively,which contact fingers are adapted to engage the circular switch tracks3i and 32, respectively. The contact fingers are carried by andpreferably formed with spring arms which are electrically connected withthe wires H and ll by means of lugs 39 and 40, respectively, ofconducting material with which the said wires are held in contact by thescrews 35 and 35, respectively, these lugs being in turn electricallyconnected with the spring arms by means of rivets which extend throughthe lugs and through an insulating disk 4|, said disk being in turnsecured to a block of insulating material as by screws 44, the upperedge of the block 43 engaging the bottom of the reel thereabove andspacing the lugs and the screw heads from the base in such manner as toenable the upwardly bent portions or fingers of the spring arms toengage their respective tracks.

It will be evident that, by this construction, as the cord II is unwoundfrom and upon the reel, the latter will be rotated, but electricalconnection will be preserved, through the mechanism described, betweenthe inner ends of the cord I I and the conductors leading to the lamp.

In Figs. 5 and 6 there is shown a modification of the means shown in thepreceding views for enabling the detent arm to be released fromengagement with the ratchet on the base of the reel, either by the actof lifting the lamp base from its support or by the manual disengagementof the detent arm from the ratchet. In the last mentioned views, 45denotes a cupped bushing which is fitted within the upper wall [5 of thebase and which has a push button 46 mounted for reciprocation thereinand having a stem portion extending through the bottom thereof, therebeing 'a spring 41 interposed between the bottom of the head of thebutton and the cupped bottom of the bushing. 48 denotes a detent toothorproiection extending upwardly from the horizontal portion of a stem 50which is shown as extending'into and secured to the push button 46. The

stem is provided with a slot 5| for the reception of an arm 52, whichmay be conveniently formed with a cup 53 and an arm 54, the latter armbeing opposed to the arm 52 and pivoted to the side wall 10 of the base,as shown at 55. The cup 53 is provided with a stem 53 projectingcentrally upwardly therefrom and forming a guide for the lower end of aspiral spring 56, the upper end of which surrounds a short stemprojecting downwardly from the top portion Ill of the cover and pressesagainst the said portion.

With the parts constructed and arranged as described, it will be evidentthat, when the lamp base is resting upon a suitable support, the spring55 will be compressed by upward movement of the cup 53, thereby enablingthe spring 41 to bring thedetent tooth 48 into engagement with one ofthe teeth of the ratchet formed on the bottom of the reel; also that,when the base is lifted from its support, the spring 55, which is ofgreater strength than the spring 41, will rock the cup 53 about itspivot, causing-the arm 52 -to engage the bottom wall of the slot 5|,thereby to depress the stem 50 against the action or the spring '41,thereby disengaging thedeten't tooth from the ratchet and permitting thereel to be wound, oriunwoun'd, according to the direction in which thelamp may be moved. i

It will be evident further that,iif it is desired to wind or unwind thereel without lifting the base, this may be effected by depressing thepush button 46 manually, as is the case with the push button 24 V 'This.application is a continuationirr part of myxapplication Serial No.393,210, filed- May 13. 1 941. 1

Havingthus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination, with a'basehaving an elevated-upper portion and supporting means dependingtherefrom, of a real rotatably-supported within said supporting meansand having means for supporting a cord or Wire wound thereupon, a springconnected to said reel for rotating the same in a direction to wind acord or wire thereupon, the said reel being provided with ratchet teethextending therearound, pawl mechanism comprising a detent, and meansoperative by the engagement of said 'base with a support on which saidbase is placed for engaging the detent with a ratchet tooth thereby toprevent rotation of the reel by said spring in one direction.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination, with a basehaving an elevated upper portion and supporting means dependingtherefrom, of a reel rotatably supported within said supporting meansand having means for supporting a cord or wire wound thereupon, a springconnected to said reel for rotating the same in a direction to wind acord or wire thereupon, the said reel being provided with ratchet teethextending therearound, and pawl mechanism comprising a detent and amember for moving said detent into engagement with a tooth of saidratchet through the engagement of said member with a support on whichthe base is placed.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination, with a basehaving an elevated upper portion and supporting means dependingtherefrom, of a reel rotatably-supported within the said supportingmeans, a spring connected to said reel for rotating the same inadirection to wind a cord or wire thereupon, the said'reel beingprovided with ratchet teeth extending 'therearound, a pawl mechanismcomprising a stem having a detent connected thereto and extendingtherefrom and adapted to engage a tooth of said ratchet, a memberreciprocable withrespect to said stem and adapted to project below thesupporting means for the base and to be moved upwardly by its engagementwith the support upon which the said supporting means for the base isplaced and having a portion adapted, when said member is depressed, tobe held in engagement with the said arm, and a spring in engagement withthe said portion of the said member for moving the saidportion and themember and the arm downwardly.

4. In the device set forth in claim 3, means for operating the stemindependently of the first mentioned spring thereby to release thedetent from engagement with a ratchet tooth while the means forsupporting the lamp base is resting upon its support.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination, with a basehaving an elevated upper portion and supporting means dependingtherefrom, of a reel rotatably supported within the said supportingmeans, a spring connected to said reel for rotating the same in adirection to wind a cord or wire thereupon, the said reel being providedwith ratchet teeth extending therearound, pawl mechanism comprising astem having a detent connected thereto and extending therefrom andadapted to engage a tooth of said ratchet, a member reciprocable withrespect to said stem and adapted to project below the supporting meansfor the base and to be moved upwardly by its engagement with the supportupon which the said supporting means for the base is placed and having aportion adapted, when said member is depressed, to be held in engagementwith the said arm, a spring in engagement with the said portion of thesaid member for moving the said portion and the member and the armdownwardly, and asecond spring also surrounding the said stem andtending to lift the same and the arm connected thereto, the secondspring being weaker than the first-mentioned spring.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination, with a basehaving an elevated upper portion and supporting means dependingtherefrom, of a reel rotatably supported below said upper portion, aspring connected to said reel for rotating the same in a direction towind a cord or wire thereupon, the said'reel being provided with anannular series of alternating downwardly projecting ratchet teethextending entirely around a lower surface thereof which surrounds thesupport for said reel, pawl mechanism comprising a stern having a detentarm connected thereto and adapted to engagea tooth of said ratchet, atubular guide having an abutment at its upper end and surrounding thelower portion of the stem and having a vertical slot through which thedetent arm projects, said guide being adapted to project below thebottom of the supporting means for the base when the base is lifted froma support. a cupped bushing mounted in the said base and through thebottom of which the upper end of the stem extends, there being anabutment carried by the upper portion of the stem within the bushing, aspring interposed between the said abutment and the cupped bottom of thebushing, and a spring engaging the said abutment on the top of thetubular guide and exerting a downward pressure thereupon.

7. In a device of the character described, the

combination, with a base having'an elevated upper portion and supportingmeans depending therefrom, of a reel rotatably supported below saidupper portion, a spring connected to said reel for rotating the same ina direction to wind a cord or wire thereupon, the said reelbeingprovided with an annular series of alternating down wardly projectingratchet teeth extendingentirely arounda lower surface thereof whichsurrounds the support for saidreel, pawl mechanism comprising a stemhaving a detent arm connected thereto and'adapted to engage a tooth ofsaid ratchet, a tubular guide having an abutment at its upper end andsurrounding the lower portion of the stem and having a vertical slotthrough which the detent arm projects, said guide being adapted toproject below the bottom. of the supporting means for the base when thebase is lifted from a support, a cupped bushing mounted in the said baseand through the bottom of which the upper end of the stem extends, therebeing an abutment carried by the upper portion of the stem within thebushing, a spring interposed between the said abutment and the cuppedbottom of the bushing, and a spring surrounding the lower portion ofsaid bushing and the stem hav- I ing its upper end in engagement with ananchored abutment on the top of the tubular guide and its lower end inengagement with the upper portion of the tubular guide. 1

8. In a device of the character described, the combination, with abase'having an elevated upper portion and supporting means dependingtherefrom, of a reel rotatably supported below said upper portion, aspring connected to said reel for rotating the same in a direction towind a cord or wire thereupon, the said reel beingprovided with anannular series of alternating downwardly projecting ratchet teethextending entirely around a lower surface thereof which surrounds thesupport for said reel, pawl mechanism com prising a stem, a detentprojecting from said stem and adapted to engage a tooth of said ratchet,the said stern having a slot providing upper and lower walls, a cuppedbushing mounted in said base and extending downwardly thereinto, a pushbutton reciprocably mounted in the said bushing and with which the saidstem is connected, the said button having an abutment adjacent to itsupper end, a spring surroundin the lower portion of said push button andengaging the abutment thereof at one end and the cupped bottom of thebushing at its other end, a cupped member having arms projectingoutwardly therefrom, means pivotally supporting one of said arms fromthe said base, the other arm extending into and through said slot, and aspring having one end mounted within the said cup and its opposite endpressing against a portion of the said base, the second spring being ofgreater strength than the first mentioned spring and the cup beingadapted to be projected below the base when the latter is raised fromits support, whereby the arm connected thereto maypress the saidstemdownwardly and disengage the detent from engagement with the saidratchet.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination, with a lamphaving a base provided with downwardly extending supporting means, of atube extending through and secured to the upper portion of said base, abushing secured to the lower portion of said tube, a reel rotatablysupported by said bushing, a spring connected to said reel and adaptedto rotate the same in a direction to wind electrical conductorsthereupon, electrical conductors leading upwardly through said tube forsupplying current to a lamp, electrical conductors wound upon said reel,and means for effecting an electrical connection between the conductorswound upon the reel and the first mentioned conductors While the reel isbeingrotated as well as when it is at rest, the last mentioned meanscomprising circular tracks of conducting material supported by andbeneath said bushing and connected to the first mentioned 10

